The Sea's Standard
by Uzumaki Ricky
Summary: It will take more than one quest for the Greeks and Romans to learn to coexist. While Percy's group is making one attempt, another group will make one of their own. But can Greeks and Romans ever unite? Or will they remain as separate as east and west?


**Aloha, readers! This is Uzumaki Ricky, straight from the island of Oahu, coming to you with a collaboaration fic between me and my two buddies Spyrofan777 and brown phantom! Take it away, guys!**

_**Hello. Many know me as Spyro and Naruto writer, but I am a big fan of the Percy Jackson series and thought I could with a fic with my friend Ricky, and writing idol brown phantom.**_

**Hello I'm brown phantom. I write it so you don't have to.**

**Since all of us haven't hit ground with these kinds of fics yet, we all like hte series, and an idea like this is just TOO good to pass up, I thought "What the hell? Why not write this with two of my closest friends/favorite authors on this site?"**

_**I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Just remember the four R's! Read...**_

**Review...**

_**Recommend, Repeat.**_

**Now let's get this show on the road!**

**Disclaimer: None of us own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. No do any of us own the sequel series, Heroes of Olympus.**

**But someday, we will own something you all will be writing fanfic for.**

**The Sea's Standard**

**Michael I**

Summer camp, a place of fun activities and important lessons for the youth to learn. That's what this place was and, at its heart, it was no different than any of the others that were scattered across the country. But this camp, this particular camp, was one unlike any the world had ever seen or was likely to see again. How different was it you might ask? Well, for starters, most camps didn't have someone attending who was capable of bench-pressing the cabin they dwelled in.

"Michael!" A girl screamed, not in horror but more offense, at seeing a boy lifting an incomplete wooden house big enough for two dozen people over his head like it was a workout.

The boy, now identified as Michael, sighed and but continued to bench-press the cabin. "What?"

Michael looked like a normal, if somewhat muscular sixteen year old boy of Hispanic descent. He was wearing a black shirt that fit him well, but not too tightly, a pair of dark blue shorts, and black leather fingerless gloves, as well as a watch on his right wrist. If he went to high school, people would assume he was a football player or wrestler. But he never even finished elementary school, let alone started high school. Most half-bloods were like that. He was tall, had black hair reminiscent to the color of a Blackbird jet and electric blue eyes similar to the eyes of Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, and sported some peach fuzz on his face.

"What the Hades are you doing? That cabin's brand new and it's not even finished yet. Heck, the foundation isn't even properly secure. How can you expect this to be made to last if you treat it like it's a barbell?" She said, clearly angered by his actions.

Michael just shrugged. "Hey, as long as I'm the only one living in it, it's mine and I can do as I please with it."

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Well, until it's fully constructed, it's still my project and made from my personal designs, so it's mine and not yours. Put it down and go find something else big and heavy to lift if your muscles need to be bigger."

"Yeah, yeah! Keep your panties on, Sandra!" He said before putting down his cabin, being careful in the process lest the daughter of Athena and one of the designers of Camp Half-Blood's expansion have a conniption fit. She wasn't as bad as her half-sister Annabeth would have been, but, then again, Jackson knew how to handle that girl. Michael didn't know how to handle any girl.

Sighing, Michael got out from under his cabin and decided to try and find something else to do. 'I wonder if any of my cousins from the Ares cabin are doing anything. I could go for a decent workout right about now.'

You see, Michael wasn't any ordinary boy. He was one of the campers at Camp Half-Blood. To be exact, he was a son of Hercules, the physically strongest of the demigods in Greek mythology and the _only_ demigod in Greek mythology to be made a god. Due to this, he inherited his father's incredible strength. Some of you would think that it was a dream come true. But you'd be wrong.

You see, just like his father did, Michael didn't have the best control over his ridiculous strength. When he was young, he was always afraid to play with most other kids because, almost every time he did, someone got hurt. Badly. But still, he did make _one_ lifetime friend when he was younger.

Then he was sent to Camp Half-Blood and he never saw that friend again. His friends now were the other demigods of Camp Half-Blood, primarily those from the Ares Cabin. He had some friends from the Hermes Cabin, at least until the gods of Olympus were bound by a vow to no longer procrastinate in claiming their children, so those friends were being scattered into new cabins that either were already made or being built for gods that didn't have cabins here originally. He had been claimed by Hercules, and so far seemed to be the only one.

Being the only Hercules kid and without having as many of your friends right there with you, it got kind of lonely sometimes. He still remembered the day he came to Camp Half-Blood, clear as day. He doubted he could _ever_ forget it.

*Flashback*

"Do you really have to go?" Michael's best friend Bobby asked, hoping the answer would be no.

Michael sighed. "Sorry, buddy. But I do. I wish I didn't though. I'm really gonna miss you."

"Will you write?" He asked, because this was taking place back in the days when pen pals actually existed and social networks hadn't tried to dominate every facate of mortal interaction.

"Sure! And someday we'll meet up again!" Michael said reassuringly. He then pulled something out of his backpack. "Here, something to remember me by."

"Really? You sure?" Bobby asked, not taking the offering.

"Yeah. Besides, I can always get another. And without me around to give you courage, you're going to need something to help you get your own." Michael insisted.

Bobby smiled then accepted the gift. "Thanks. And I think I have something for you too." He reached into his own backpack and took out something wrapped in paper before putting it in Michael's hands. "Something I made in art class. I was going to give it to Dad, but I can make them another one later."

Michael unwrapped it and saw a handmade necklace made from yarn and decorated with a jade stone. Or maybe just a green-painted rock. On the stone were two white angel wings painted on. "Thanks, but if this is for your dad you should give it to them."

"I know, but since this is the last time I'll see you this is more important right now." Bobby insisted.

Michael looked at Bobby, still unsure. "You sure?"

"I'm sure. Please take it, Mikey." Bobby told his friend.

Michael smiled and accepted the offering. "Thanks, bud!" There was a car horn heard, making him look to the school's parking lot. "Looks like my ride is here."

Bobby nodded, understanding. "Take care of yourself, Mikey! And try to stay out of trouble!"

Michael was already heading towards the parking lot. But, when he heard the last part Bobby said, he smirked ant looked back over his shoulder towards his best friend. "No promises!"

Michael ran to the car his mother drove and saw the front seat was open. He hopped in, said hi, and closed the door, taking one last look out the window at the school he'd never go back to and the friend he wouldn't see again for who knew how long. There was one more thing he didn't expect to see. A tall man walking up behind Bobby, too tall to be normal and definitely not a teacher. Michael didn't know every teacher here, but he was positive that none of them had only one eye.

"Mom, who's that?" He asked, pointing to the man, who was looking at him the entire time instead of Bobby. That one-eyed stare was creepy, especially given how it wasn't located where any eye should be.

Michael's mother saw the new man and paled, but, instead of answering, she stepped on the gas and drove away quickly. None of Michael's questions or pleads to go get Bobby slowed her down. After a while he stopped asking, but that was the time he started noticing something else. She had driven away from home, away from the city in fact, yet none of their stuff was in the car. Also his little brother hadn't said a word.

"Michael," His mom finally spoke up. "That man was after you. Bobby should be safe, he wanted you. And he's not the only one." Michael started to shake, it wasn't every day your mom told you that strangers were pursuing you. "I know a place where none of them can get you. I'm taking you there now."

"What about you guys?" Michael asked worriedly.

"We have to go to a different kind of safe place. We're not allowed to go where you're going. Just wait for us and we'll come back." His mother responded.

"No!" He rejected.

"Michael, if there was any way we could all be together, I'd take it in a heartbeat. But right now, this is where you'll be safest. No matter what, promise me you won't leave without permission. Promise me." She insisted, still not taking her eyes off the road but the young boy felt like she was looking right at him.

Michael sighed, knowing that there was no arguing with his mother when she was like this. "I promise, mom. But who's going to protect you and Jackie while I'm gone?"

"I can't tell you his name, and even if I did I doubt you'd know how to even say it back, but I can tell you that this person owes me a favor. He'll watch over Jackie and me until we can meet up again." She said reassuringly.

Michael nodded in understanding. As long as his mother could guarantee that she and his little brother would be safe, he'd do what she asked of him. And just when he was feeling better, the back of the car was crushed by a club appearing out of nowhere.

"What the heck was THAT?" Michael yelled, caught off guard by the impact.

"Mom!" Jackie yelled.

"Damn! They're faster than I thought." Their mother said before speeding up, pretending that the words 'speed limit' were part of another language right then.

"Mom, what is after me? You clearly know! Tell me!" Michael all but demanded in a fearful tone.

"Monsters." She claimed. "The kind that don't hide under beds or in closets, but attack in the daytime."

Michael looked shocked and a little angry. "Monsters?! But you told us that monsters weren't real!

"There's more than one type of monster in the world, Michael. And, sadly, some are real. You'll see just how many when you're older." She stated.

"Mom, there's this guy on a motorcycle behind us swinging a stick." Jackie warned, looking out back.

Michael looked behind his seat, but what he saw was different than what his little brother had described. It was that one-eyed man again, running at them on foot somehow able to keep pace even if not quite fast enough to overtake the vehicle. And the stick he was waving was actually a studded club big enough to crush a cow's skull.

"I know, dear. I'm going as fast as I can." Their mom said before turning onto a different road, reducing her speed just enough to avoid rolling in the turn. Fortunately, their chaser hadn't anticipated that and ran right into the back of the car, knocking them down for a moment. They drove away before they saw how it react any further.

Michael looked back and saw this, then sighed in relief and turned forward, hoping that this would give them some kind of reprieve. "Mom, can you at _least_ tell me where we're going?"

She said nothing for a moment. "A place where your father can protect you."

Michael gained an extremely angry look on his face. "My father?! Why do we need _that_ bum?! The guy just leaves you, leaving you to raise me alone, and _now_ he's going to help us?!"

"Yes." She said it so simply yet firmly, like that was all there was to say on the subject. "We should be there shortly."

Michael glared in front of him and clenched his fist at the idea of accepting help from the man who abandoned him and his mother. But he decided to grit his teeth and bare it while hoping that she knew for sure that she knew what she was doing. That didn't mean he was suddenly going to be the bum's best friend all of a sudden. In fact, the first thing he intended to do when he saw him was punch him in the stomach before kicking his ass.

His mother drove off the road onto a dirt road that went into a forest, but her speed didn't reduce at all, making the drive bumpy now.

Michael felt himself bumping up and down in his seat, even with his seatbelt on. "M-mom, a-a-are y-y-you s-sure i-it's a g-g-good i-i-idea t-to b-be g-going th-this f-f-fast o-on th-th-this r-r-road?"

"It would be a worse idea not to." She told him.

'What's got her so afraid she'd risk a car crash to get away from it?' He asked himself.

Suddenly, Michael heard a crash behind him. Like the sound of a tree being knocked over.

"Oh no, not here!" His mom panicked.

Michael looked at her, surprised to see her panicking. "What do you mean "not here"?! Mom, what's going on?!"

"Just a little bit further!" She said to herself.

"_MOM_!" He started to yell.

She opened her mouth, but the sound of the back window breaking halted anything she was going to say. "Jackie?"

Michael looked to his little brother, who was holding his head and crying. It looked like he was more terrified than hurt. Michael reached behind him as far as he could and gripped his little brother's hand gently. "Jackie, look at me!"

Jackie looked, but he still looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Michael put on his strong older brother face then, one he had to use whenever the younger boy had been bullied. "We will get through this! At the end of this road is a safe place, and we _will_ get there! Just think of it as a roller coaster, bumpy and fast but completely safe! Okay?"

Jackie still looked afraid, but he also trusted his big brother. If he said that they'd get through this, then they would. So he nodded his head in response. "O-okay, Mikey!"

Finally the mother came to a stop, after slowing down first. "No time for questions, Michael. You see that arch there?" She pointed out her window.

He looked and sure enough atop a hill right beside a tall pine tree there was a wooden arch. "Yeah."

"Run for it and get on the other side. Once you do everything will be explained. Run and don't look back, and more importantly don't come back on this side." She told him.

"But-"

"No time for questions. I love you son and we will see each other again. If you love us, head for that arch now." She told him.

Michael looked at his mother, then at Jackie. "Be brave for mom and look out for her while I'm gone, okay Squirt?"

Jackie smiled lightly at his big brother's affectionate, if somewhat irritating nickname for him and nodded. "I will, Mikey!"

Without another word, Michael left the car and started running to the arch. When he was a good five feet away, the car revved up again and his family drove off. He was honestly a bit shocked, thinking they'd wait until he got to this mysterious arch before leaving. Ever increasing footsteps coming his way answered his unasked question. It sounds like a bipedal elephant was coming for him, and if this one-eyed guy could create this much noise, then Michael had to move as fast as he could.

Anxious, Michael started picking up speed, trying desperately to reach the arch before the one-eyed guy caught up to him. But he stopped dead in his tracks when a large and familiar club slammed onto the ground in front of him. Looking up, he saw that the one-eyed guy had taken a shortcut and cut him off.

"Going somewhere, demigod?" He asked rhetorically. The voice was bizarrely the most normal part of this guy.

Knowing better than to answer, Michael went around the club and kept running. If the big guy wanted to hit him, he'd have to retrieve his weapon first. This would have worked, had the guy not swung his leg and knocked down a tree, causing the fallen tree to block his path.

"What do you _want_ from me?!" Michael yelled.

The one-eyed giant of a man merely smirked and hefted his enormous club. "Your head!"

Michael clenched his fists and got into loose and ready stance, a bit like a street fighter's. If he couldn't run, then he had no choice but to fight. And he was _not_ going to let this thing win and risk it hurting his mom or little brother at some point. "You want my head! Then come and get it, ugly!"

One-eyed giant's smirk grew as he raised his club. "I intend to, little Godling!"

Michael charged, pulling back his fist to hit this thing. Knowing he was too small to hit high, he decided to target the leg, hoping he could bring him down if nothing else. The one-eyed man moved to kick him, but Michael on sheer reflex changed course to the other leg before he could change anything and punched the knee, certain that would have a reaction. To his surprise, the sound of bones shattering was heard, and rather loudly at that. The giant roared in pain and dropped his club before falling to his other knee and grabbing his injured one tenderly.

Seeing the monster that had chased him all this distance momentarily helpless, Michael balled his fist and was strongly tempted to attack him further. So, giving into temptation, Michael jumped as high as he could and punched it in it's inner thigh as hard as he could. The sound of bone breaking could be heard again, this time more like a snap, making the beast scream more.

Michael smirked. "Heh! Not so much fun when the other guy fights back, is it?"

The one-eyed giant glared down at Michael and raised his hand before trying to crush Michael under it. For a moment, it seemed like he'd succeeded. But then Michael popped out from between two of his fingers "Pop goes the weasel!"

Michael then shot forward and kicked the one-eyed giant's leg out from under him to bring him in closer and punched him hard in the stomach. If Michael could have seen the look on his one-eyed face he might have laughed. The monster then grabbed him, held him tightly but not too tight, with just the left hand free, and brought the young boy in front of him, glaring at him. "You little punk? Any last words before I crush you like toothpaste?"

"Yeah, one." Michael said, holding up his hand with a single finger pointing up. "Here!" He then thrust his extended finger into the guy's single eye.

The monster screamed in agony and threw Michael before grabbing his injured one eye. Unfortunately, this sent Michael crashing into a tree. His body ached, but strangely it didn't hurt as much as it should have. That had always been one of Michael's strong points, his great ability to take a hit. Even his mother spanking him hurt his pride more than it hurt his body.

'Now's my chance!' He thought, running back to the arch. Michael reached it, but forgot about the fallen tree. Remembering the damage he was able to inflict on the one-eyed giant, Michael decided to try and lift it.

"Go around!" Someone shouted.

"Huh?" Michael asked, since he couldn't seen anyone. suddenly a lot of arrows flew overheard, aimed at the giant.

"Go around the tree! You don't need to walk thru the arch, just be on this side of it!" The same voice told him. It sounded almost grandfatherly but still young.

"Who the hell are you?" Michael called out, not wanting to obey the orders until he knew for sure that the one giving them wasn't lying.

"It's either me or him, young man!" The voice answered.

Michael looked back towards the monster for a moment. It couldn't get up or see him, so now was a great time to finish it off himself. But, at the same time, he had no idea what this thing could really do. It was obviously strong and fast, but so far that seemed to be the extent of it's abilities. And it definitely intended to harm him, but was the guy on the other side of the tree any better?

Then, before Michael could come to a decision on his own, he heard the monster say something that made his blood boil.

"Just wait until I find you, Godling! When I do, I'll break every bone in your body before taking you with me while I track down your family and your little friend! And once I have them, I'll force you to watch them die before I end you!" The one-eyed giant roared in pain and anger.

Clenching his fists so tightly that he almost drew blood, Michael started walking towards the monster. He was going to beat it to _death_ for saying that. Do what you want to him, but you _never_ mess with his family or his friends! Then he was suddenly stopped by someone jumping ahead of him and landing. It looked like a man riding a horse, but a closer look showed the man WAS the horse.

"What the hell?" Michael said.

"What is it with your bloodline wanting to make things difficult? Been that way since I taught your father. Get to the safe zone now, Michael." The horse-man told him, taking out a sword while facing the monster.

"How do you know my name?" Michael asked the horse-man

"Your mother told me you'd arrive. Luke, take him!" The horse-man said to someone behind Michael.

"Got it, Chiron!" An older boy said before grabbing Michael from behind and dragging him.

"Hey! Let me go!" Michael tried to escape the grasp of the teenager holding him. No one had ever been able to hold him down for longer than a few seconds.

The teenager known as Luke shook his head. "Sorry, kid! Can't do that!"

"You asked for it!" Michael said before grabbing Luke and throwing him over his body like a martial artist might. Luke had not anticipated that someone almost half his size would be able to do such a thing and could not stop it early. Taking the opportunity, Michael rushed forward to take care of his pursuer himself. But, to his shock, the horse-man just then stabbed the giant with his sword and the one-eyed guy turned into dust.

"What the...? How did you...?" Michael asked, not even able to make a complete sentence due to how shocked he was.

The horseman just looked back at him with a slight smile on his face. "With experience comes wisdom, my boy!"

*End Flashback*

It had been seven years since that night, and now Michael understood what his mother had been trying to tell him. He was a half-blood, another way of saying demigod, meaning his father was a Greek deity. Apparently, the myths of ancient Greece were real and the way of the Greek had never really died out, just changed locations and adapted over time. Now it was located in a colony on Long Island, disguised as a summer camp and strawberry farm.

When Michael found out that he was the son of one of the Greek gods, the part of him that loved Greek mythology was _thrilled_. Maybe that was partly why all of the stories from Greek mythology always captivated him. They were speaking to the demigod within him. He was especially thrilled when he found out that his father was none other than Hercules, the greatest Greek hero of them all. Of course, that thrill was quickly soured by the fact that his mother had to raise him and Jackie all on her own.

Hercules was always his favorite Greek hero. He'd admired the man's strength, determination, grit, and overall toughness. So finding out that his favorite Greek hero was also the man who abandoned them was a big kick in the nuts for Michael. Chiron, the centaur that ran the camp along with the help of Mr. D, had explained that the gods can't be everywhere at once, and they're often busier than mortal parents. Plus, Chiron knew Hercules personally, having been his trainer when he had been Michael's age, and told him something that really stuck with the boy.

"Hercules does not have a lot to do as a god, so he does have free time compared to the others. However, he stays away for a very important reason. He believes you're safer away from him."

Even now, Michael still couldn't figure that out. It sounded like a mere excuse to him. Surely Hercules had more than enough time to learn how to control his strength, so what was he afraid of? Having to actually be a father? Was being a hero to everyone in the world more important than being a good role model to probably the one person in the world who actually deserved it from him?

The way Michael sometimes saw it, Hercules loved being a hero more than he loved being a parent. A kid just got in his way. And everyone knew what Hercules did to things that got in his way. But Michael _did_ also remember what Hera did to Hercules. How she drove him temporarily mad and made him kill his wife Megara and their children.

Maybe he was afraid to get close to any kids he had because he was afraid of hurting them like he did to his first set of children and his wife when Hera drove him mad? The two sides of the issue often confused him, and if he thought about it too much, he might go mad without Hera to blame on it. Sighing, Michael snapped out of his musings and decided to put it out of his mind for now. If he ever actually got to _meet_ the bum, then he could ask him himself.

'I need to think of something else. I wonder if Sammy's busy.' He told himself before turning into the woods around camp, heading for what was clearly the weirdest camper around. And considering the variety of demigods they had and were getting, that was _really_ saying something. But weird or not, Michael liked hanging out with her.

For some reason, she just brought a smile to his face. A few minutes later Michael showed up at a clearing in the woods, where a tent was up and a fire pit was smoking as if recently doused. There was a clothesline behind the tent. And that's where he saw her, putting up a blanket and some old clothes to air out. She was seventeen years old and had the body of an athlete, fit and flexible.

Her hair was a dark brown, so dark it could easily be mistaken for black, and her eyes were a leaf green. Her normal attire was the orange shirt standard for campers along with forest camouflage cargo pants, with her weapons strapped on and a red headband worn. Right now, she just wore moss green pajamas and had her hair loose.

"Yo, Sammy!" He called out.

She turned around. "Oh, it's you. Ran out of things to pick up and put down?"

Michael chuckled at the little quip. "Actually, I got yelled at by Sandra for bench-pressing my cabin."

Sammy laughed. "Oh, that is so you! Makes me glad I don't have a cabin for you to bench-press."

When it came to the weird things about Samantha Beldent, or Sammy, as he liked to call her, it was that she was the only demigod in the entire camp who didn't live in a cabin. She had been there longer than he had been, and to be frank, he honestly couldn't remember the last time he had seen her even set foot in one. She chose to live out in the forest around camp in her tent, claiming that was where she felt most at peace. Campers were assigned cabins based on their godly parent, once they were claimed by the god of course.

Those that hadn't been claimed usually stayed in the Hermes Cabin, since Hermes was the patron of all who used the roads. Thus making it originally the most crowded cabin even if less than half the campers there were actually his children. Part of why no one made a fuss about Sammy living in the woods was it did save room in that cabin, and part of it was because her godly parent had yet to claim her. That was probably the single weirdest thing about her right now.

Ever since the defeat of Kronos, the gods were sworn to claim all their children at the age of thirteen at the latest, with all those older than thirteen being forced to be claimed first naturally. It was a vow made on the River Styx, one that even the gods couldn't break without it biting them in the ass. And yet somehow, Sammy was the only person at camp Halfblood to not yet be claimed. She was as of now the only camper who was still considered an orphan of the gods.

And Michael found that _extremely_ weird. He would've thought that, whoever the hell her godly parent was, that they would've claimed her by now. Hell, even _Hercules_ had claimed Michael himself eventually. It wasn't like they had anything to be ashamed of.

Personally, Michael thought Sammy was one hell of a warrior. In her own words, she had been fighting wolves before he even got to camp. She was awesome with a sword, a bow, and, to his knowledge, she was the only camper to know how to work a gun of any kind. Not that such weapons were in camp, but she told him she had to use one once on a quest to defend herself from a hellhound with the underworld's version of rabies.

Although she never said where she got the celestial bronze bullets from. To Michael, any god would be proud to claim her as their own. She was practically an epitome of what the campers were trained to be. She feared nothing and survived anything that had come her way. The fact that she was beautiful, at least in his opinion, and a fun person to be around certainly didn't hurt things, if you asked him.

"So what did you come here for? Hoping to catch a peak of me in my underwear?" Sammy teased.

Michael blushed. "What do you think I am? A satyr?"

"You expect me to believe you've never tried?" She asked him.

"I think having your own forest groupies has made you forget how people can be." Michael claimed.

Sammy did spend a lot of her time with the satyrs and dryads of the camp, partly because of her living arrangements. But another part was that they felt a strange sort of kinship with her they couldn't explain. Especially the satyrs. To them, she was as mesmerizing as a daughter of Aphrodite.

For years Sammy has been unable to bathe without a dryad or naiad to give her some form of cover. Some of the human boys were fond of her too, but only a few had ever asked to be her boyfriend. Fortunately she was no heartbreaker like Drew Tanaka of the Aphrodite Cabin. She was as tough as nails, but only when she had to be, not just for the sheer fun of it.

That was actually one of the many things he admired about her. She was a fierce warrior, but still kind and sweet outside of a fight. Some people were saying that, because of her lifestyle and attitude, she was some secret child of Artemis and the reason she was unclaimed was because Artemis, one of the eternal virgins of Mount Olympus, would lose all credibility among the gods for possibly the next thousand years or so if she did claim someone as her child. Personally, Michael didn't believe that.

Sammy was tough, but she definitely did not fit in with the Hunters. She was a lone wolf, and though she may not want to admit it, he knew she did want to have a boyfriend someday. He just didn't know who her type was. A part of him actually hoped that a guy like him could be her type.

You see, due to the fact that she was one of the few campers outside of Jackson and the Ares and Athena kids who could beat him one-on-one, he greatly respected her abilities and admired her for them. Granted Jackson had a _huge_ advantage over him before he disappeared and ended up in the Roman camp thanks to the Curse of Achilles, but he could still give Michael a real run for his money _before_ he got it. Over time, Michael's respect and admiration for Sammy's abilities turned into a crush on the weird and unclaimed female demigod. And a BIG one, at that.

But one of the things Hercules wasn't know for was success in love. Michael could only hope he didn't inherit that, but he wasn't sure he wanted to test it out yet. One of the things they don't teach at camp was handling dating, which was strange considering the age of most campers and the fact the Aphrodite kids barely wanted to learn anything else.

"I'm just bored. You know how to handle a lot of spare time. Any ideas?" He asked.

She seemed to take on a thinking face. "Well... we could go for a race through the woods."

"Sure. To Zeus's Fist and back here?" Michael suggested.

Sammy nodded. "Alright, and what are the stakes?"

"Well, since you put the idea in my head, if I win, how about I do get to see you in your underwear?" Michael teased.

"What?" Sammy asked, covering her mouth and blushing.

That sure surprised the son of Hercules. This was the first time he had seen Sammy actually look embarrassed. Michael snickered while trying to contain his laughter. "Are you... blushing?! You can actually get embarrassed?!"

"Shut up!" She yelled, donning her angry face. "How can you even think to ask a girl that?"

"Weren't you the one to bring up the subject Sammy? I just said it back to you." He replied.

Suddenly, she seemed to smirk. "Well, if you want that to be your prize for winning, then I think it's only fair that _my_ prize for winning be getting to see _you_ in your underwear!" At this, the son of Hercules blushed deeply and looked away. This, of course, brought a wry smirk to his friend/crush's face.

"What's the matter Mikey? Can you dish it out, but not take it?" She added, giving her well-known smirk at him. It was the smile of a predator in a good mood.

Michael glared at her lightly, blush still on his face, but held his hand out for her to shake it. "You've got yourself a bet!"

"On-your-mark-get-set-go!" She said rather than shake his hand and ran on ahead.

"Cheater!" He shouted as he started running himself, thankful that with his extra-strong leg muscles catching up to her would be no problem. That was what he thought. At least, until she pulled back a branch as she passed it and let it go, causing it to smack him on the face.

"Low blow Sammy!" He yelled as he rubbed his face and tried to catch up yet again. Up ahead she moved through the forest like she had been born in it, and she was laughing. Her laugh helped dull the pain he was feeling.

He smiled as he heard her. He _really_ loved hearing her laugh, which was like music to his ears. But that _didn't_ mean he was going to let her beat him! After all, Michael Morales Maverick, demigod son of Hercules and son of Isabelle Maverick, not necessarily in that order, never backed down from a challenge. And he _never_ surrendered.

**XxXxXx**

"Chiron?"

The white stallion centaur was enjoying listening to some music on his iPod by the lake when he saw someone approach him from the side. He couldn't hear them so he pushed pause and removed his .headphones. "Hello there Rachel. What can I do for you?"

This was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the only person in all of Camp Half-blood who was pure human. Not a drop of godly blood in her veins whatsoever. Normally people like her couldn't even see the camp, let alone set foot in it, but she was the one and only exception to the rule: She was the present day Oracle of Delphi.

"I just had a prophecy come to me."

_**To Be Continued...**_

_**Well, I wonder what our resident redhead has in store for us...**_

**We may know, but our readers will have to wait to find out. Wouldn't you agree, brown phantom?**

**That depends, how much are you willing to pay for me to keep my mouth shut?**

_**I can pay you in how much of your skin isn't burned by Shadow Fire? [evil smirk]**_

**I'll be good.**

**Yeah, Spyrofan777 can be creepy sometimes. No offense.**

_**[wiggles tongue like Gene Simmons]**_

**AH! Kill it!**

_***goes Malefor's voice* YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME, I AM ETERNAL! (Look up Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon ending if you want to be sure :P )**_

**Ignore the banter, readers. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, then remember the four R's. Review, and don't forget to tell us what you think in your reviews...**

**Isn't that basically the same thing?**

_**Yes, I believe it is...**_

**Oh, you guys get what I mean!**

**Just pointing it out. You know how picky some readers can be.**

_**[slaps Ricky with a salmon] Away with your pointless banter, knaves! Read, review, recommend, repeat!**_


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